Occupy UC Davis: Whose University?

Freshman Ian Lee had an intense first quarter at the University of
California, Davis, when he joined campus protests against tuition
hikes. At a peaceful sit-down demonstration to protect the UC Davis
Occupy encampment, Lee and other students were pepper-sprayed at close
range by ­cam­pus police.

A video of the event got national attention. But Lee says “The Occupy
movement isn’t about me, or the others who got sprayed … It’s about
coming together to fight austerity.”

Occupy
UC Davis protesters demonstrated that solidarity when their friends
were pepper-sprayed. “Whose university?” they asked, “Our university!”
They used the “human mic” to convince police to leave the area.

In the following days, the students demanded accountability from the
police, regents, and Chancellor Linda Katehi. They displayed moral
authority in their use of nonviolence throughout, and moved forward the
national discussion about police use of force and the rights of
protesters.

Interested?

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